The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology Blu-ray Movie Review

The Collected Adventures of Captain Howdy

Reviewed by Michael Reuben September 27, 2014

Note: Review scores are averages of the five titles included in this set and reviewed individually.

Warner Home Video has released a collected set of all five Exorcist films, four of which are appearing on Blu-ray for the first time. Of those four, three are also available separately, while one—the Paul Schrader-directed Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist—can only be acquired as part of this Anthology set.

The crown jewel of the Exorcist franchise (if it can even be called that) remains William Friedkin's original shocker, and on that score the Anthology contains nothing new. The two discs devoted to the 1973 film are the same original theatrical version and extended director's cut previously released in a 2010 DigiBook edition and then again in 2013 in a 40th anniversary edition with a third disc of additional documentaries. (The third disc has not been included.)

Friedkin's film was followed by one bona fide sequel in 1977, Exorcist II: The Heretic, which effectively killed the franchise, prompting the original novel's author, William Peter Blatty, to try something entirely new, using some of the characters from The Exorcist but telling a story about evil as it manifested itself in a form other than demonic possession. Blatty wrote and directed the film, which he wanted to call Legion, after the novel he'd published first, but his producers insisted on calling it The Exorcist III and made Blatty change the story to fit the title. The result, released in 1990, suffered not only by comparison with Friedkin's film, but also because Exorcist II had been such a stinker.

In 2004 and 2005, audiences had the unique opportunity to experience two entirely different approaches to roughly the same story, as Warner and production company Morgan Creek released two directors' takes on an Exorcist "prequel" recounting the history of Father Merrin, the elderly priest played by Max Von Sydow in Friedkin's film. Neither version of the prequel did particularly well, largely because the much weaker version was released first, so that, by the time the second one arrived, everyone had seen and heard enough.

Friedkin's Exorcist remains a classic, but, like Citizen Kane, it has been so thoroughly studied, copied and imitated by filmmakers that it really should be left alone. Who needs sequels or prequels, when the film's progeny are everywhere? Still, one of the lessons of this anthology is that special effects are not what made The Exorcist work. Those who came closest to achieving the same unsettling effect as Friedkin (namely, Blatty himself in III and Paul Schrader in the unfairly dismissed Dominion) focused on the inner turmoil of their characters and used effects sparingly.

For discussion of The Exorcist (both versions), please see The Exorcist Blu-ray review by Kenneth Brown.

For discussion of Exorcist II: The Heretic, please see Exorcist II: The Heretic Blu-ray review.

For discussion of The Exorcist III, please see The Exorcist III Blu-ray review.

For discussion of Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist, please see Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist Blu-ray review.

For discussion of Exorcist: The Beginning, please see Exorcist: The Beginning Blu-ray review.

The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For video evaluation of The Exorcist and screenshots (both versions), please see The Exorcist Blu-ray review by Kenneth Brown.

For video evaluation and screenshots of Exorcist II: The Heretic, please see Exorcist II: The Heretic Blu-ray review.

For video evaluation and screenshots of The Exorcist III, please see The Exorcist III Blu-ray review.

For video evaluation and screenshots of Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist, please see Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist Blu-ray review.

For video evaluation and screenshots of Exorcist: The Beginning, please see Exorcist: The Beginning Blu-ray review.

The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For audio evaluation of The Exorcist (both versions), please see The Exorcist Blu-ray review by Kenneth Brown.

For audio evaluation of Exorcist II: The Heretic, please see Exorcist II: The Heretic Blu-ray review.

For audio evaluation of The Exorcist III, please see The Exorcist III Blu-ray review.

For audio evaluation of Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist, please see Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist Blu-ray review.

For audio evaluation of Exorcist: The Beginning, please see Exorcist: The Beginning Blu-ray review.

The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Extras for each title are discussed in their respective reviews.

The Exorcist: The Complete Anthology Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner has not made any special effort with the four newly released Exorcist films. The video treatments run from poor to acceptable, with no real standout among the four titles. Still, fans of the series, or even just the curious, should give the Anthology serious consideration. Warner rarely revisits its catalog releases, and then only for major titles. The four new discs in the Anthology are probably the best versions we're likely to see, and the Anthology can be had for less than the price of the three individual titles purchased separately. Even if you already own both versions of the original film, that's a deal worth considering.